Dark Hamon

The Crusade Begins

It's dark. I need to hurry home, Aria picked up her pace. Her gym towel swayed at her hip, and its shadow made her jump. If those idiots hadn't taken so long with their deadlifts, I wouldn't be having this problem. She shook the frustration away.

Her cat trotted alongside her, occasionally looking over his shoulder. She turned a corner when she heard a click behind her and felt a cold point between her shoulders.

"Turn around slowly."

She did as the voice said and came face to face with three men. Their smiles twisted with malice. "Give us all you have." She fumbled around in her pockets and backpack and pulled out all the money and valuables she could find. "Oh no, that's not all we had in mind." Another, bigger man approached and grabbed her by the throat and began to pull her into an alley.

Jotaro's feet clicked in unison with three other men. To his right was Noriaki Kakyoin, a man he had saved not even a day ago from certain death- a man who had nearly killed Jotaro and an innocent woman when under the unshakeable control of the cruelest man the world had ever known. After Jotaro had saved him, Kakyoin felt his honor rested on him defeating the sinister man who once controlled him. To Jotaro's left was his grandfather, Joseph, whom Jotaro had met two days ago in response to him developing otherworldly powers. Joseph helped him come to grips with the nature of the "spirit" which seemed to follow him, and a man whose robes almost concealed his feet trod to Joseph's right. The robed man- Avdol- had come with Joseph to realize Jotaro's potential in battle. Like it or not, Jotaro knew he was far too deep into this fight to turn away now- nor did he want to. The thought of the man he was at war with made his blood boil.

They heard a woman shriek. Their heads whipped around to see her figure receding behind a brick wall. Jotaro snapped into action and sprinted toward her. The buildings obstructing his view made his face tense. It's been too long since I've seen where they are. I'm not going to make it in time.

He turned the corner with the other three on his tail. He, being strides ahead of the others, saw her first. She was beginning to stand up, and he saw a massive figure of an animal. He looked down to a pile of three men all moaning in pain. Some had gashes across their bodies, and others had chunks of flesh hanging from their arms and legs. Having both gashes and deep punctures, one man's face was mauled to where it barely resembled that of a human's. When he looked back up all that stood beside her was a household cat. She flipped her ponytail over her shoulder and turned around. Seeing that there was another person behind her, she instinctively hunched down with knees bent and fists in front of her face.

"Oh Jotaro, it's you." She stood up straight and relaxed her arms and shoulders. "Sorry, my adrenaline must still be high."

"Did you..." he trailed off, unable to process what he was seeing. By this point, the others had turned the corner and collectively gasped.

"They tried to hurt me. They had it coming, and if you were to ask me, I went too easy on them." Jotaro looked at her cat. His face was covered in blood. It was only then he noticed the blood that stained her arms and legs. "I'm sorry you have to see this."

"What exactly is that animal?"

"What? He's a cat..."

Jotaro raised an eyebrow. "His mouth is covered in blood."

"He has a strong bite, what can I say?" She shrugged.

"I saw something huge next to you just a little while ago, and now all you have beside you is a little black cat. Tell me, is he your stand?"

"My what?" She shook her head and furrowed her brows. "I have no clue what you're talking about. He's just my cat. Now excuse me while I report this to the police. They'll need to get the paramedics out here immediately." She started to stroll past him, but he seized her by the forearm.